During IC packaging processes, in order to prevent the lead-frame from dropping out due to the human errors in the magazine transporting process, or being contaminated by the dust, both of which will result in production loss, it is necessary to cover the protective end cover plates. But we also need to remove the end cover plates from the magazines before they are sent into the other feeding entrance of the packaging equipment so that the equipment can take the lead-frame out of the magazines in order to continue the packaging process.
Therefore, as far as the packaging automation is concerned, especially during the transfer of the lead-frame magazines between the various steps of the manufacturing process involving die binder and wire binder, the handling of the end cover plates is a very important issue.
Today's machinery of the in-line system of relevant IC packaging equipment regarding the handling methods of the magazine end cover plate can be classified in general into two kinds:
(1) Manually accessing the end cover plate from the magazines by the operators, ESEC of Switzerland is a representative firm. This method not only needs a lot of labor when it comes to removing and covering back the end cover plates, it also causes the system operation to be troublesome due to the temporary space for the end cover plates.
(2) Transporting the lead-frame directly without using the magazines, A.S.M. of U.S.A is a representative firm. This method has the disadvantage of lacking flexibility; furthermore, the lead-frames, which are made of elastic material, are subject to being stuck at by the transporting mechanism, and are not applicable to the production line with products having small quantity and large number of variety. Also, since they are not protected by the magazines, the welding line of the lead-frame are subject to damage and contamination; As a result, the yield is not high.
In light of the afore-mentioned problems, the present invention designs a method and device for use in the IC package process to automatically access and temporarily store the end cover plates of the magazines so as to protect the lead-frame in the magazines from being damaged or contaminated during the transporting process, and to attain the effect of raising the yield. Moreover, when the lead-frames are moved in and out of the magazines during the IC packaging process, the device disclosed in the present invention can automatically perform loading, unloading, and temporarily storing the end cover plate, so as to attain the efficacy of saving labor and reducing the temporary storing space required of the end cover plates as well as raising the extent of automation of the IC packaging process.